


Late Night Coffee

by TheMightyFlynn



Series: Moments Between and After [1]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Pining, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-23 07:29:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23007934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMightyFlynn/pseuds/TheMightyFlynn
Summary: Kaidan Alenko was annoyingly attractive. Annoyingly, irritatingly,infuriatinglyattractive.
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard
Series: Moments Between and After [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653547
Comments: 4
Kudos: 84





	Late Night Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> Part one of a series between Kaidan and male Shepard. Rated only for language.

Kaidan Alenko was annoyingly attractive. Annoyingly, irritatingly, _infuriatingly_ attractive.

John hated him for it. Or, rather, didn't hate him; _couldn't_ , in fact. As much as he would like to. It would make his life so much easier if Kaidan was easy to dislike. The thing was – John's problem was… Fuck it, he figured. Kaidan was _nice_. Nice, and generous, and loyal, and kind, and… His top lip curled.

It was disgusting. What right did he have to have all of that, wrapped up in one package? What fucking _right_ did he have? John's hands clenched around the coffee mug resting on the table in front of him.

It had started all the way back on the SR-1. As the XO, he had known that breaking the fraternization regs was _probably_ a bad idea. He hadn't been so worried about it before he had been trusted with a position of such power, but this had been an opportunity he hadn't wanted to give up. The Normandy – and the chance to work with Captain Anderson – was the best shot he had been given yet. And it wasn't as though he had accepted the role with the idea of becoming attracted to one of his subordinates, after all. It had happened before, of course. The fraternization regs were something that everyone had a tendency to break at least once. Hell, if his parents hadn't broken them, John himself wouldn't have been there. With Kaidan, however…

John sighed. Kaidan was so… He shook his head. There wasn't a real way to describe it. Kaidan was a by-the-book marine. Careful, and self-controlled – which John was reliably informed came part and parcel with being a biotic – and so goddamned _quiet_. Polite, but distant. 'Yes, sir,' and 'No, sir,' and 'Aye, aye, sir.' 'Commander.' _Shepard_. Even after Virmire, and Ash had… He shook his head. No, he was not going there. Ash and what had happened on Virmire – the decision he had had to make – were another in a long list of nightmares he still had.

Friendship. That was what he had settled on. A friend to speak to between missions, maybe to grab a drink with on shore leave. Someone who had been through the same sort of shit, and could therefore understand what it was like. Even that, though, especially after the whole dying thing, had been difficult. He understood Kaidan's reluctance, he truly did. Cerberus were The Bad Guys, and him showing up with them looked highly suspicious.

That was all behind them, however. The Illusive Man and all his bullshit were gone. Now it was just the Reapers. Huffing a breath out his nose, he chuckled to himself. _Just_ the Reapers. That was all. _Just_ an entire race of immortal machines that they had managed to piss off a few years back. Nothing to worry about. It would be easy.

"You should be in bed."

John's eyes slid closed as his gut twisted pleasantly. "And you shouldn't?"

His hands clenched tighter around his mug as he glanced over towards the coffee machine. Kaidan stood there, still completely dressed, his features bathed in the red glow of the lights. John hadn't bothered to turn the overhead lights in the mess on when he had entered… How long had he been sitting there now? Half an hour? Maybe?

" _I_ am not the one the entire galaxy is leaning on right now."

John returned to staring down into his coffee. He raised the mug and grimaced as the cold coffee hit his lips. Scrunching his face, he shoved it away from him.

"Why do you think I can't sleep?"

A light blue glow surrounded the mug as Kaidan Pulled it towards him. John watched it go, watched as Kaidan emptied the cold coffee out and made him a new cup. He swallowed down the reaction he wanted to have – the reaction his body was practically _screaming_ at him to have – and settled for a grateful smile. Kaidan took the seat across the table from him, his own hands wrapped around a steaming mug.

"Do you ever sleep more than an hour a night these days?"

The steam from the coffee was strong enough to wake John up properly. A small smile tilted his lips. Kaidan always preferred his coffee at jet fuel strength.

"With coffee this strong? It'll probably keep me going for the next three days."

"You want me to take it off you?"

John tightened his grip and shot Kaidan a _look_. "Touch my caffeine and I will murder you. And, trust me, I can make it look accidental."

The responding chuckle this received sent his stomach fluttering pathetically. Raising the mug, he inhaled the scent briefly before taking a small sip. His eyes closed as the hot coffee settled in his stomach.

"Well, at least you seem to be enjoying it. Even if it may be my downfall."

John hummed, the mug still at his lips. His eyes reopened to meet Kaidan's gaze, but the look he was pinned with stopped his breath. Kaidan's eyes had always fascinated him. They were the color of whiskey, or syrup, or… He didn't know. They were strange, at any rate. And, right at that moment, they held such warmth, it made John's chest ache.

"Kaidan?"

"Sorry." Kaidan broke eye contact with a shake of his head and a small smile. "Just… thinking."

When wasn't he? John was certain that Kaidan's mind never shut off. Not that he could talk. Kaidan was correct, of course: John hadn't been sleeping much more than an hour a night recently. With everything going on – all of the reports, and politicians to deal with – there was never enough time. In fact, he really _should_ have been going over some of the reports he needed to file right at that moment, not sitting with Kaidan in the mess, wasting time. It was just that… Closing his eyes, he inhaled the scent wafting from his mug again.

"Let me know if there's anything I can do." When John reopened his eyes and raised an eyebrow, Kaidan smiled. "Let me – let _us_ – help, Shepard. You need to learn to delegate."

Taking another sip, John placed the mug down. He was unable to resist the smile that crossed his face. Tali, Liara, and even Garrus had been telling him the exact same thing, some of them for many months now.

"You know I prefer to do things myself."

"I know that you'll work yourself to death before we even get close to the Reapers doing things yourself." Kaidan stood, his mug in hand. "We're all here for you, Shepard. You're not in this on your own."

John glanced up as Kaidan placed a hand gently on his shoulder. Biting his tongue to prevent himself from saying something stupid, he nodded.

"Thank you."

"Get some sleep. EDI will tell me if you don't."

John grinned. He listened to Kaidan's footsteps retreating before ducking his head to inhale the coffee scent again. He held the breath, feeling the familiar warmth of desire creep through him.

Kaidan truly was annoying. Warm, and attractive, with his coffee and soft smiles. Bastard.


End file.
